Maintaining healthy eating habits of a dog is the prime responsibility of a dog owner. Healthy dog food plays a vital role in maintaining health and heartiness of the dog and keeps them safe from various food allergies and digestive disorders. Healthy dog food is also important for normal growth of the dogs and healthy routine activities that they perform. When we cannot prepare dog food at home, due to any reasons, we opt for the ready-made dog food, as the most convenient option. This fact makes our job even more difficult as a pet owner. Not all the brands are healthy for the dogs. Hence, the best thing to do is to check for the ingredients and then only select the best dog food.

Healthy Dog Food Ingredients

You can use fresh lean beef, beef heart, liver, stewing meats, boneless steak or beef roast, boneless and skinless chicken breast, chicken thigh, fish fillets, leg of lamb, boneless stew lamb, etc., with selected vegetables like beets, broccoli, cucumber, carrots, pumpkin, squash, parsnips, yams, zucchini, sweet potatoes, etc., as the best ingredients. Home cooked dog food is the healthiest dog food, however, when searching for healthiest dog food brands, we need to make sure that it contains healthy and natural ingredients that are beneficial for the dog's health and overall development.

According to the healthy dog food formula, a dog's food must be made of 10% carbohydrates + 40% meat + 50% vegetables, which means, one needs to buy dog food that revolves around this basic formula. The dog food that you buy should also be USFDA approved and with the specifications of AAFCO. You also need to have gluten free dog food which is also low residue. You can try homemade dog food recipes and also search for the best dog food brand reviews, prior to buying one for your dog.

Unhealthy Dog Food Ingredients

Unfortunately, many of the foods that get higher ratings in the healthy dog food ratings are extremely harmful for your dog. Most of the time, commercial dog food contains list of various artificial preservatives, taste makers, colorings and artificial flavorings. These ingredients cause numerous harmful and long term effects on the dog's health and hence they should be avoided. The functions and amount of most of these substances are not mentioned on the dog food nutrition list at the back of the packets. However, you can avoid purchasing them, by just knowing names of these ingredients. Here is a dog food review that deals with the harmful ingredients of the commercial dog food.

Carbohydrate Sources
Brewers rice, feeding oatmeal, cereal food fines, grain fermentation solubles, potato products like peels, pieces and culls of potatoes, maltodextrins and fermentation solubles, malted barley, grain fermentation solubles, soy flour, etc. Always check the dry dog food ratings and purchase the dog foods that don't contain these ingredients.

Food Additives, Binders and Flavors
Glyceryl monostearate, propylene glycol, phosphoric acid, wheat gluten, corn gluten, animal digest tissues from horns, hair, hooves, teeth and feathers, parts of dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter (4 D animals), roadkill animals, restaurant/supermarket refused animals, glandular meals, things that are mentioned on the list as chicken digest, lamb digest, etc.

Fibers and Fats
Cellulose alternatives like dry wood, corn bran, corn kernel, corn cellulose, hulls of peanuts, rice, corn, oat, soybean and wheat mill runs, which are inexpensive byproduct of human food processing and are also called floor sweepings of the mills. Fats from beef tallow, lard (swine fat), poultry fat, vegetable oils that are extracted from the fruits and seeds that are processed for edible purposes of human, parts of dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter, roadkill animals, restaurant/supermarket refused animals, etc.

Colors and Sweeteners
Corn syrup, cane molasses, fructose, dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate, sorbitol, sugar caramel, cane sugar, etc. While color additives that are some of the common dog food ingredients are namely, titanium dioxide (TiO2), red 40 (artificial color), blue 2 (artificial color), yellow 5 (artificial color), yellow 6 (artificial color), etc. These colors are responsible for food allergies in dogs.

Supplements, Preservatives and Vitamins
Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), propyl gallate, also known as gallic acid, ethoxyquin, bone phosphate, mineral oil, salt, yeast culture, yeast fermentation solubles, vitamins like menadione sodium bisulfate, synthetic vitamin K, vitamin K3. These ingredients should be avoided if you are searching for the best dog food for allergies like stomach ache and diarrhea in dogs.

Protein Sources
Beef meal and bone meal for dogs, apart from hair, horn, blood, hoof, manure, hide trimmings, rumen and stomach contents, blood meal, poultry meal, chicken meal, turkey meal, corn germ and corn gluten meal, liver meal, fish meal, meat meal, pork meal, poultry byproduct meal, soy meal, corn distillers and dried grains with solubles, etc.

You can try some healthy homemade dog food recipes and also search for the best natural dog food brands, before purchasing the dog food. It is the best thing that you can do to keep your dog safe and healthy as ever!